Character Trumps Issues
The fall of John Edwards and the rise of John McCain prove that issues don’t matter that much in primary elections. Character counts.
Now that Edwards is out, everybody says he drove the Democratic policy debate: poverty, universal health care, global warming and
He did. And he lost.
Look at McCain. On issues, he drives Republican conservatives crazy. But he keeps winning the voters.
Ergo, voters aren’t keeping an issues scorecard. They’re making judgments about what the candidates are made of.
Plus, McCain had the good luck to be running against deeply flawed opponents: Romney, Huckabee, Thompson, Giuliani and Paul. Edwards had the bad luck to run against two all-stars, Obama and Clinton.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.
Character Trumps Issues
The fall of John Edwards and the rise of John McCain prove that issues don’t matter that much in primary elections. Character counts.
Now that Edwards is out, everybody says he drove the Democratic policy debate: poverty, universal health care, global warming and
He did. And he lost.
Look at McCain. On issues, he drives Republican conservatives crazy. But he keeps winning the voters.
Ergo, voters aren’t keeping an issues scorecard. They’re making judgments about what the candidates are made of.
Plus, McCain had the good luck to be running against deeply flawed opponents: Romney, Huckabee, Thompson, Giuliani and Paul. Edwards had the bad luck to run against two all-stars, Obama and Clinton.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.